


Ember

by sugarby



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Dirty Talk, Domestic Fluff, Kray mention, Light Angst, M/M, Post-Canon, Wholesome, couple being cozy together, they get cozy and play video games and make snacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:02:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21874129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarby/pseuds/sugarby
Summary: "Good day?"“Sometimes I stare into the kitchen furnace and consider jumping into it just to see what'll happen.” It's been one of those long days where customers are too much to deal with and Lio found himself just staring into the flames of the oven while pizzas baked and he dwelled.Galo gapes, "Oh, that's..." concluding his workout, he sits up. "I was expecting a funny story about pepperoni or cheese but...don't do that, 'kay?""It's probably against policy anyways."Galo laughs stiffly, "...I dunno how much of that is a joke.""Me either."(Or Lio comes home to Galo after a long day and they just chill, play video games, talk, eat and love each other).
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 6
Kudos: 101





	Ember

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted some domestic galolio so here we are. Can be read by itself or as an _add-on_ to [FIMS](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21581941).
> 
> _*Title is a Scorbunny move_

Furniture is pushed back and the open space of the apartment living room becomes a makeshift gym for Galo Thymos' evening workout. The rainfall outside is fast and heavy and sounds like an angry drum encore against the windows. Too risky to ride his bike to his gym and hey, it's fine, really. He might not be getting the full use of his monthly membership for nearly seventy bucks but he isn't necessarily missing out.

In regards to his boyfriend's disposition, which he lovingly expanded on, fire is strong against wind; it flickers and wavers but stays bright and endures. That's a pretty good analogy, if Galo does say so himself, and what kind of burning soul would he even have if he didn't believe in that and rearrange the living room to do push ups and sit ups on the floor shirtless.

The building staircase makes a decent treadmill and the tops of doorways are good enough for pull ups. So it's all good.

Okay, well _there was a time_ when he slipped and fell onto his boyfriend as he was coming through and that was an interesting story to take to A&E.

The doctor laughed.

Galo laughed.

...Lio didn't.

He forgave the incident _eventually_ , one batch of sugar cookies Galo got on his knees to beg Aina to help him whip up later. Lio tried to stay mad even while he ate them and his tastebuds practically praised them in opera song but _that_ fell through the moment Galo opened his stupid mouth and compared him to a hamster, ogling with the biggest, sparkliest eyes ever.

Lio comes home a little later, shuffles in through the long entryway with a greeting on his lips but it easily dissolves at the doorway like sugar in hot water. His boyfriend's tendency to be innovative at the most peculiar times apparently means he has to come home to him on the floor, shirtless and sweaty.

It lures to the front a compendium of intimate times he's had the pleasure of seeing Galo like this. _When_ , Lio wonders, did this become his life: no longer lone journeys across wastelands or danger and untameable heat but this, his other half greeting him with shameless advertisement of his body that has many times been more than capable of holding him against a wall.

It's ridiculous; something hallmark protagonists walk into.

Lio sort of really likes this version of his life.

"Oh, hey!" Galo says between huffs as he sits up, lies down, repeats, never stopping.

"Yeah, hi." Lio absently greets back, more focused on the neighbour across in the other building blatantly staring into their living room. Stepping over Galo, he crosses the room to pull the curtains closed. He doesn't want to know how long they've been open and Galo's been giving their neighbour no dinner but quite the show.

(Lio remembers never being the jealous type. Then again, Burnish were never allowed to have things and call something _theirs_ ).

"Good day?"

“Sometimes I stare into the kitchen furnace and consider jumping into it just to see what'll happen.” It's been one of those long days where customers are too much to deal with and Lio found himself just staring into the flames of the oven while pizzas baked and he dwelled.

Galo gapes, "Oh, that's..." concluding his workout, he sits up. "I was expecting a funny story about pepperoni or cheese but...don't do that, 'kay?"

"It's probably against policy anyways."

Galo laughs stiffly, "...I dunno how much of that is a joke."

"Me either."

Working part time at the best pizza restaurant in the city isn't what Lio signed up after the world was embraced in flames and restored but it helps his true goals. He stays focused on laws and regulations for recovering burnish most days and makes pizzas to cover the necessary expenses. It's feels underwhelming, given all he's ever done. Then Galo comes in and every single time, he stops caring about all that.

His day is instantly made better.

"Dinner?" Lio settles into the couch that's been pushed against the wall. Here, he has a clearer view of their balcony and it's absolutely gorgeous on a night like tonight. Ironically, Lio quite likes the rain, the way it falls and how it sounds, quietly until it meets the ground on impact in a splash and shakes the environment.

"Pizza?" Galo offers, mostly serious but the partial joke in it gets a disagreeable moan. "Okay, wanna cook?" A longer groan and Lio's making a show of sliding down the couch, hair fluffing up behind him. "Fine, how about that noodle shop down the street?" He has it on speed dial, after the fire department and the pizza restaurant _but not before_ , of course, his boyfriend.

Not anymore, anyway.

> "The pizza restaurant is on speed dial? _Really_ , Galo?"
> 
> "Not just any restaurant, it's the best one in the city!"
> 
> Lio looked like he was done, that mix of exhaustion and irritation that Galo absolutely didn't want to be the cause or target of. 
> 
> "Look, the only time I ever passed out or something was 'cause I worked too hard on an empty stomach! So, I thought _—_ "
> 
> "You thought wrong. Very wrong." Lio cleared the space and inputted his own information, then tossed the phone back. Galo had to juggle it around. "Call me next time."
> 
> It was probably his confidence on how reliable, resourceful and overall kickass he was but Galo treated it for more heartfelt reasons, holding his phone with such a big smile. Lio stressed it was only for the sake of emergencies; Galo nodded along, sure that his increased heart rate qualified.

That was some time ago.

Around when they stopped being on different sides and came together, evolving from frenemies and coworkers to steady partners. It's the longest commitment Galo recalls ever giving, not including his duty to put out fires. Or his admiration for a guy who turned out to not be as great as seemed when he was the strong silhouette carrying a young boy out of a burning house.

Even now, maybe it's crazy but Galo doesn't feel he was wrong to want to give so much to him in return. But...he wants to give _everything_ to Lio. The Lio who didn't have an entire city chanting his name for the right reasons; the lio whose name is often spoken in sweet, breathless tones when it's the two of them in their intimacy like nothing else on the world exists.

"Did you ever...not like being Burnish?"

"It caused a lot of problems. It also did a lot of good. So no."

 _Fair enough_ , Galo thinks, nodding understandably. He never wants Lio to dislike any part of himself, especially what's bound and unchangeable. What brought them together. "And you could fly and turn into a big-ass dragon!"

"Yeah," Lio smiles fondly, "That was pretty cool."

"Like you. Pretty and cool."

Lio rolls his eyes but one can never be full up on cheese, apparently, and he presses an appreciative kiss to Galo's cheek.

"Hey, wanna see something awesome?"

"Sure."

Galo scrambles up from the floor for the entrance closet. Past the makeshift debris of cleaning supplies and holiday decorations and after something that trips him up _("Do I need to come in there and rescue you, Galothy?" "Nah, I got it, I'm fine! The vacuum cleaner just got a lil' handsy, is all!"),_ he comes back with a gift bag. Plain but brightly coloured, big but not obnoxiously so, he holds it out.

Lio takes it. Inside, through the tissue paper, he finds a boxed Nintendo Switch Lite console, just like the ones advertised everywhere for every kid and their pet to pester someone for, and a recently released Pokemon game.

"Call it an early gift."

“It’s not my birthday."

“I know.”

That special date is boldly marked on their calendar inside a heart beside a cute doodle of Lio.

Galo holds up his console, the blue version, and his copy of the latest Pokemon game, the shield version to Lio's sword. That's sort of how he likes to see himself, as the protector of the people and of Lio's wellbeing (and he prefers the exclusives that come with this copy). Whereas Lio suits the Sword for being such a fighter through and through, with and without pyrokinetic, other-dimensional aliens.

Lio spent so long being unwanted and hated that he conditioned himself to only need necessities to survive. It's a constant battle against himself to let it sink in that that's not his life anymore. Luckily, he's got Galo fighting on a side, as supportive as ever. “This is very thoughtful of you, Galo, thank you. But it looks expensive.”

“It’s only four months wages _—_ ”

“ _Four_?”

“ _And_ a few extra shifts," because a lot of the damage he causes on duty is rebuilt out of his pay and it's a chunk, "But totally worth it! Don't even think about _—_ listen, no take backs!"

Lio laughs, " _What_?!"

"It's totally a thing!"

"Yeah, when you're, like in _preschool_."

Among the things Lio has learnt following the Promare returning to their dimension, the inability to convince Galo to think rationally is one of them. He gets an idea and takes himself away with it _—_ more so if it's out of love and for a loved one. Lio opens the box and holds the switch in his hands; the two-hundred buck price tag on the game console is practically nothing in comparison to the world Galo burned for him, to the stars he would catch and pull down for him if he asked.

"So, you gonna help me set this up or what, Galothy?"

Together, they set up Lio's switch and get cozy on the couch, their ordered takeout spread on the coffee table they pushed back. Lio questions whether they'll be able to demolish the entire spread between just the two of them, Galo cracks his knuckles and ensures they have a long night ahead of them.

He's right and the whole meal goes within two hours.

Lio doesn't see why he was bought Pokemon in particular aside from the co-op factor. Until he sees it, white and fluffy with two ears and padded paws and fire scorching from its feet. The fire-type starter Pokemon presented along with the others seems to beam up at him at first glance. Lio sends a skeptical look to Galo, who plays innocent, ducking under his console.

Lio scoffs, kicks him and they engage in a match of footsies, careful not to drop their consoles.

They both progress in the game, hitting the wild area between gym battles, and Galo shouts all sorts of praise for how well Lio and his party are doing. He's formed quite the group, ranging from adorably low to intimidatingly high builds and levels. Lio shrugs most of the time, feeling undeserving from how easy the game has started off. Luck is a huge factor, as well, in whether or not he manages to catch a wild Pokemon.

Scorbunny practically hopped into his arms when they first met, considering another type wasn't an option anymore. Scorbunny cheers in his possession and they go off on their merry way with their rival and his starter.

It makes Lio smile without him fully realising and he's settling in for a great experience. It's exactly what Galo was hoping to see, that smile and look of peace, because it's everything.

Lio kicks at him, blushing a bit, “Shut up…”

They play for hours and hours, to the point where they both need to charge up their switch and keep playing. Only when their stomachs rumble later into the evening after the takeout does Galo come out of the trance.

He sets down his switch and stands, "Be right back, imma make us some snacks."

"Want me to put on those mini quiches?"

"Quiches."

"Yes, that's what I said."

"No, it's just a weird word, ain't it? Quiche. _Quiche_."

Lio fails to catch a wild Pokemon for the fourth time in a row, " _You're_ a quiche."

"I'm _your_ quiche." Galo returns, which gets Lio making an uncomfortable squeal _—_ an invitation for Galo _to stop at any time_. "Nah, you sit tight and catch some Pokemon."

Lio's joking when he asks, "What, afraid I'll burn myself?" but Galo isn't saying anything, just staring in an obvious way. "I don't believe _—_ I know how to work an oven! What, you think I'm so ordinary that I'm incapable or something without it?" He was normal, once upon a time, in England where he actually lived his life without having to mind all things flammable. 

"Ordinary isn't a bad thing." Wrong, wrong thing to say, Galo can see from the narrowing of Lio's eyes and the glare he keeps. "I mean _of course you're not_ but if you were, I'd still love you!"

"Oh, wow, pity love."

"We've been together for two years, by now I think that's called _adoption_." 

Lio flings a couch cushion, "Shut up and put the damn quiches on!"

Galo ducks it and teasingly salutes. The next pillow lands across his nose.

When he looks in the freezer draws and finds no mini quiches, he remembers that Lucia ate them. And that he helped, too, like a gentleman. But outing himself would be the last thing he'd ever do, Lio would make sure. He looks around the cupboards for an alternative and finds it, grabbing a box of poptarts.

"Change of plans! We're eating like kings tonight, Lio, 'cause we got poptarts!"

"Pop _what_?"

Galo more or less barrels out of the kitchen and back into the living room, looking at his boyfriend in horror. "Wow. Okay. okay, Lio? Firework?"

"Don't call me that."

"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this but everything you've ever known has been a lie and you have been deprived of real joy."  
  
"Really? My brothers and sisters who have spent the past thirty years being hunted down like animals and experimented on had no idea. Thank you, Galo, for opening my eyes."  
  
" _Come on_ , you have to try this! It's _so_ good!"  
  
"But what is it?"  
  
"The toaster pastry of all toaster pastries! Warm, sugary goodness in your mouth!"  
  
"No, really, what's _in_ it?" Lio takes the box to read the ingredients on the back. "Either you don't know or aren't telling me because you know I'll immediately hate it." He isn't done reading when it's taken away and he's left to reach for it like a child. Galo hushes him with a kiss and the promise that it will be delicious, so Lio goes back to his game, pouting slightly.

"You seriously never made Poptarts? They're the easiest thing, just toast them!"

"I've heated up popcorn with my hands for the others."

"You're kidding! Dude, show me!"

"Okay. I just need a pan, a lid to cover it and, oh yeah, the Promare to come back from their dimension."

Galo groans, "Well you coulda showed me _before_ then!"

"I didn't know you were gonna set the whole planet on fire!"

The pop tarts hot on their sides but cool down pretty quickly. Two iced, rectangular pastries on a small plate between them, one chocolate and one strawberry. Galo gives him the honour of first bite of whichever one; Lio splits them so they get half each and they feed each other between Pokemon battles, sometimes feeling daring enough to let their lips linger on fingers more than necessary and practically suck on them with positive sounds.

Lio groans, watching intensely as Galo sucks the jelly from his thumb. "I'm _this close_ to turning this thing off so I can fuck you on this couch." 

Galo bites his grin, "But you and your Scorbunny are doing so well."

"Don't test me, Galothy, I can fuck you _now_ and win a damn gym badge after."

"How about whoever gets their gym badge first gets to fuck the other?'

"Fuck you, you were playing this before I got mine!"

Galo laughs and kisses his cute scowl, "Okay, firework." Then he for some reason adds, "I may have looked up to Kray but I know how to be fair." He hears a sigh and watches Lio shuffle away. Galo knows it's killed the mood but they can't not talk about it ever; it's such a huge thing. "I know, babe. But think of it this way. We might not have met if it wasn't for him."

Lio's glaring at his screen, at Scorbunny's flames being washed away by a big water-type Pokemon. "A lot of things wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for him." He swaps Scorbunny out for Pikachu and counters. It's a critical hit. "But hating him has allowed me to be creative. You're into your history, Galo, is it better to have him scorched alive or beheaded with a rusty _—_ "

"Okay, okay," Galo kisses him apologetically. "I won't do that again."

"Good."

"I'm really sorry. About everything."

"Galo, it's been _two_ years."

"I love you."

Lio sighs, strokes Galo's face when his head lies on his shoulder, "I didn't think I'd ever get to hear that before."

"I'll say it to you every morning when we wake up together, every night when we go to bed, and as many more times between all that. I'll always say it no matter what!"

"Can you say it while you're riding me?" Lio smirks and flips his console screen around to show his avatar and Scorbunny shaking hands with the gym leader they've just defeated, securing his victory in more ways than one.

**Author's Note:**

> I low key _melt_ when I write Lio calling Galo 'Galothy' ever since I started that in my prmr rock au, it's just so cute!!? aaahhh!


End file.
